Evaporator



A. W. BAUMANN EVAPORATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 'Apriiv 2 5. 194s fl? 07716 gs:

June 6, 1950 A. w. BAUMANN 2,510,275

EvAPoRAToR Filed April 25, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 55.- Kam @un Patented June 6, 1950 PAfrgENT o Ferca -EvAPoRA'roR Arnold W. BaumanmfGhicagmIll.

---Application April 25, 1946`Seria1Nol 6614351 4 Claims (cifras- 279) This inventionrelateshto evaporators of the type used for making'cond'ensed milk, or the like, and more particularly toan improved entrainmentV separatorV for Yan evaporator, Ato remove and recover spray iparticles-or i:droplets which are carried along `with Vthewapo'rsd tothe separator chamber.v

vv'Ihe-prii'naryobjectof-the' Vinvention is tol provide' an improved-entrainment'separator which will'r be more eihcienti-n removing droplets from the vvapor-'and which may' be cleaned readily.

Another yobject-ofV the invention is to provide animprovedf-stack which isplacedalong the side wall of the unit'andl isfprovidedwith a Weighted separator plate which will automatically accommodate itself to various velocities of vapor travelling through' the' "stack,

The invention is illustrated in an improved embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section, showing an evaporator unit embodying the invention; Fig. 2, a top plan View of the same; and Fig. 3, a fragmentary elevational View similar to Fig. 1, but taken at a 90 angle.

In the embodiment illustrated, the evaporator unit is in the form of a cylindrical tank having a heating chamber 4 and a superposed entrapment separator 5, which is provided at its top with an outlet conduit 6. A vapor space I above the liquid heating unit is separated from the entrapment chamber by a dish-shaped partition 8, which is provided at its lowermost portion with a J-shaped drain tube 9 for returning milk solids into the vacuum pan or heating chamber. All of the parts are preferably made of stainless steel, and the joints are welded to avoid crevices and facilitate cleaning.

Vapor is conducted from the vapor space to the separator chamber by means of a stack I whose cross-section is in the form of a circular segment, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper portion of the stack is curved downwardly, as indicated at II, so as to direct the vapor downwardly towards the partition 8. A pair of hooks I2 are provided on the end of the member II, and a separator plate I3 is loosely suspended thereon by means of slots I4. Preferably the separator is concave toward the stack, and is provided with a weighted arm I5 which urges it to a position which will restrict the ow of vapor into the entrainment chamber. As shown in Fig. 3, the lower end portions of the plate are cut away, as indicated at I6, so that the plate will be free 2 tofswingagainst the curved 'walls of the entrainmnt chamber.

'L In order to remove entrained liquid efficiently from moving'fvapor,-direction-of flowshould be chaiiged`rapidly,-andthe velocity of flow reduced by'rnov-ingthe vapor-into a-y largerchamber. As the -rate of evaporation may change during the operationof the evaporator unit, itis `desirable to' have the Ygravity roperated* separator plate abl'e to accommodate itselfA to slight variations in theflow. -Thiswillnbe takenfcareffo readily zby thefwlei'gliiefd-'arm'l I E-,Tandorice the Weight I1 has been placed infproper position, no furtheradjustment is necessary.

evaporator funithandlingy milk must be keptlscriuplous'ly -clean,=v and thislusuallyi-nvolves openingithe-uhitleaeh dayand fcleaning the partsA thoroughly. For this purpose, a manhole cover I8 is provided in the entrainment chamber, and the simple construction enables the separator plate to be unhooked and cleaned outside of the unit. Heretofore, the communicating stack has been centrally disposed, and in smaller units it has been Very diicult for the workmen to get in and do the required cleaning. The vapor space in the heating chamber is also provided with a manhole cover I9, having a window 20 through which the flow of liquid from the drain tube 9 may be observed. Other Windows 2|, 22 and 23 are provided so that the internal parts of the units may be observed during operation.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a separator unit for use in an evaporator of the type used for making condensed milk and the like, a vertical tank having external confining side and end Walls, a dish-shaped partition in the tank at an intermediate portion of its height and extending laterally from one side of the tank to an inner edge intermediate of the vertical center line and opposite side of the tank, a stack wall extending upwardly from said inner edge of the partition to form a stack between the adjacent side of the tank and the stack wall, and an upwardly, inwardly and downwardly curved wall spaced upwardly from the top of said stack Wall and extending inwardly from the side of the tank, over and inwardly of the stack wall to guide vapors from the space below the partition upwardly through the stack and then downwardly into the space above the partition whereby entrained liquid in the vapor will fall onto the dishshaped partition, a manhole cover removably covering an opening in the tank side wall opposite the space above said partition to provide for unobstructed access into said space above the portion for easily cleaning the walls thereof, and a deector plate swingably hinged at the inner edge of the curved wall above the stack wall, to yieldingly restrict the ow of vapor into the space above the partition.

2. In a separator unit for use in an evaporator of the type for making condensed milk and the like, a vertical cylindrical tank having connning side and end. walls, a laterally extending partition in the tank intermediate of its height and spaced from the tank side at its inner edge, a stack wall extending upwardly from said inner edge of the partition and having its top spaced downwardly from the top end wall of the tank, said partition and stack wall forming an entrainment chamber above the partition and a vapor space below the partition, a curved wall extending inwardly from the tank side and spaced upwardly from the top of said stack wall, the space between the stack wall and the adjacent side of, the tank and below said curved wall forming a stack leading from said vapor space into the entrainment chamber, a separator plate swingably mounted on the inner edge of said curved wall and extending down below the top edge of the stack wall, a laterally extending arm xed to said separator plate, and a weight adjustably mounted on said arm for yieldably restricting the ow of vapor through the stack and into the entrainment chamber, and a manhole cover in the tank wall opposite the entrainment chamber for providing easy cleaning access to the walls of the entrainment chamber.

r Number 3. A separator unit as claimed in claim 2 in which said separator plate is removably hooked onto the inner edge of said curved wall for easy removal for cleaning purposes when the manhole cover is open.

4. A separator unit as claimed in claim 2, in which the cross section of said stack between the tank side and the stack wall is of segment shape, and the ends of the swingable separator plate are cut away to curve inwardly and downwardly s0 that the plate will be free to swing against the curved walls of the entrainment chamber, and a drain tube in the partition for conducting collected liquid from the entrainment chamber to the vapor space below the partition.

ARNOLD W. BAUMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the rile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 198,919 Urie Jan. 1, 1878 894,407 Suzuki July 28, 1908 1,416,215 Kirkup May 16, 1922 1,420,366 Davis June 20, 1922 2,015,680 Kermer Oct. 1, 1935 2,057,257 Walker Oct. 13, 1936 2,172,133 Thuilland Sept. 5, 1939 2,234,826 Koppers Mar. 11, 1941 2,246,349 Crum June 17, 1941 2,359,078 Baumann Sept. 26, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date 611,307 Germany Mar. 26, 1935 

